Penalty!

For the next in my series of blogposts about old-school pre-computer football games, we turn to one of the smaller and simpler products. "Penalty!" is a simple turn-based card-based game with the expected objective of scoring more goals than your opponent.

 

The manufacturer was Pepys, a company that was later absorbed into the Gibson group. There's a hint in the footnote to the rules booklet that some licencing from Ernesto Scola of Milan was in place, and it certainly seems that the game was available in many countries. One of its later incarnations looks to have been "Gazza! The Game" and at other times it was known as "Goal!". If you are on the continent you might know it as "Buteur" or "Golazo". There are hints in various places on line that it goes back to the 1950s.

I honestly can't remember now whether my set is my original from the 1960s, or one I have picked up at a later date from a boot sale or charity shop. There are a few around still on eBay. The Gazza version is from the 90s, by which time Milton Bradley had acquired the rights, and again they are easy to find. It looks to be a bigger box with a more durable board compared with the earlier versions, which had a flimsy folding paper pitch.

 

The rules leaflet says that twelve specialists worked for five years on 18,000 trial games in the pursuit of perfection. To my mind that's 3600 games per year, so 300 games per year for each specialist, thats about 150 hours per year. Nice work if you can get it, maybe.

The best thing about my copy now is the artwork, glimpses of days gone by when boots were exclusively and undeniably black.

 

Essentially the game is to play your cards in turn so as to try to manoeuvre the ball (in the form of a simple counter) into the opposing goal. It's a game of two halves, and would take about 30 minutes to play. It was marketed as a game for age 7+ and I'm willing to bet that there are a few maths teachers out there who used it as an introduction to two-dimensional coordinates and vectors back in the day. You scored a goal if the ball went between the posts and your opponent had run out of Goalkeeper or Corner cards.Each half ends when the pack of cards runs out. Whether me and my brother physically changed ends at this point for added realism, I can't recall. We certainly did for the many games of Subbuteo.

Once this blogpost has been published, my set is heading towards my grandson, who is making his way through the football age group teams, so far as a solid no-nonsense U9 defender. He's mastered rugged, and we're working on cultured. He really enjoys the games and the training and long may this continue. Maybe this particular Penalty box will end up as a family heirloom, maybe it will be heading back to a charity shop, we'll see.

Thanks for your interest.

Links to previous football game posts on this blog:

Wembley 

Soccerama

Soccerboss

Emlyn Hughes' Team Tactix 

 

Before They Were Famous

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Tuesday 25 April 2023
Result	Arsenal U18 1 West Ham United U18 5
Competition	FA Youth Cup 2022-23 Final
Hopstats	My third visit to the Emirates Stadium. Impulsive purchase when I stumbled across the fixture earlier in the day.
Context
Routes to the final: Arsenal: Millwall (h) 6-0, Newcastle U (a) 3-2, Watford (a) 4-2 (from 0-2 down), Cambridge U (h) 3-2, Manchester C (h) 2-1 aet. West Ham: Sheffield U (a) 3-1, Burnley (a) 1-0, Stoke C (a) 4-1, Ipswich T (a) 4-2 aet, Southampton (h) 6-1. In their league campaign, West Ham have considerably out-performed Arsenal and won the U18 South division by a huge margin. Arsenal are managed by Jack Wilshere, West Ham by Kevin Keen.
In One Sentence
A promising start by Arsenal was washed away by a ruthlessly efficient performance from West Ham once the team had settled.
So What?
West Ham win this trophy for the first time since 1999 and the days of Michael Carrick and Joe Cole.
Match Report
The sensible ticket pricing had attracted a crowd of 34,000 of which 7,000 were filling the visitors’ section. They were in very good voice and the first action of note saw West Ham keeper Mason Terry make a flying save to keep out a free-kick by Michal Rosiak. Arsenal looked comfortable on the ball and clearly practise turning on the proverbial sixpence. It wasn’t long before they took a deserved lead. A surging but unchallenged run was made from his own half by Ruell Walters, who fed the ball out to Amario Cozier-Duberry, who’d already looked dangerous when running at defenders. Terry pushed the first shot away but the ball fell to Omari Benjamin on the left corner of the box, and he finished superbly. West Ham kept their heads and the equaliser came from another direct run down Route One. George Earthy found the back of the net and headed for the corner flag to celebrate in front of the home fans like a real pro. In just one more minute they took the lead. Callum Marshall had a tap-in to finish an incisive move down the right ending with Gideon Kodua’s cross. The celebration was duly repeated. The game then settled into a less frenetic pattern. Arsenal kept probing, though sometimes you could detect priority given to keeping the ball rather than risking a threatening move. Then, just before half-time, disaster. A miskick by Josh Robinson in the Arsenal defence let in Kodua who lifted the ball over home keeper Noah Cooper from distance. This prompted a celebration at the opposite corner flag, and an Arsenal team huddle at the instigation of captain Bradley Ibrahim. It would be essential for Arsenal to score first in the second half, and they created several half chances. Cozier-Duberry hit the side netting after good approach play from Robinson, and Terry made a close-range block from Rosiak. Cooper saved well to deny Earthy a second goal. Generally, though, West Ham kept a good shape and looked defensively brave and strong despite the efforts of the Arsenal subs. As time ebbed away, a growing sense of frustration spilled over and we saw two yellow cards at the end of some pushing and shoving. West Ham added two late goals from corners of their own, the first of which started the exodus from the home sections. The scorers were Kaelan Casey with a far-post header and Josh Briggs with his first touch. On the final whistle, another Arsenal huddle for managerial words of wisdom, and West Ham heading to their own supporters. I was willing to wait for the presentation but the setting up of the corporate staging took far too long, so it was time to head back to the trains. This was undeniably a great occasion for these young players, and I’ve listed all the names below so we can look back in a few years to see which ones break through to the elite level. The only advice I can sensibly give? Ditch the yellow shirt, Noah. No good will come of it … Arsenal U18 West Ham U18 Noah Cooper (gk, yellow) Mason Terry (gk, grey) Michal Rosiak Oliver Scarles Josh Robinson Regan Clayton Reuell Walters Kaelan Casey (Sean Tarima 79) Lino Sousa Ryan Battrum (Josh Briggs 90) Bradley Ibrahim (c) Lewis Orford Myles Lewis-Skelly Patrick Kelly Jimi Gower (Osman Kamara 46) George Earthy (Daniel Rigge 85) Amario Cozier-Duberry Gideon Kodua Omari Benjamin  (Sebastian Ferdinand 85) Divin Mubama Ethan Nwaneri Callum Marshall
Ground Pix
This is an undeniably impressive stadium, and the club leaves you in no doubt about its history, its characters, and its intended culture. The reminders cover the vast majority of internal and external wall space. I combined the game with a chance for some exercise, walking the two-and-a-bit miles each way from St Pancras Station, which takes around 45 minutes at moderate pace.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The full keeper top performance table from my last 269 matches is here, on this separate page. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 44% (55 from 124) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by undeniable half-and-half tops or lower league sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech (and supported by anonymous scientists of some description) that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. It is supposedly because of an innate primeval human reaction to the colour and the colour “spreads” more in the vision of a striker at the key moment of decision. Genius or garbage? The evidence is gathering here, and is leaning towards the latter.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! I’ll also be going to Arsenal v Wolfsburg in the semi-final second leg of the Women’s Champions League at the same stadium next Monday. At the time of writing, 55k tickets have been sold.

 

The Ites Have It, The Ites Have It

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 15 April 2023 at Holm Park
Result	Sheppey United 2 Lancing 0
Competition	Isthmian League Division One South-East (Step 4)
Hopstats	First hop for a while – have had lots of commitments with work and supporting my grandson’s games in recent weeks. Ground #766 on the lifetime list, and I’m here pragmatically for the chance to use the train rather than the car, plus I could combine a hop with a walk in the spring sunshine.
Context
Sheppey start the day just outside the play-off places in the division. Lancing are in lower mid-table but still not technically safe from a step 4/5 relegation playoff. The fact that the result matters to both sides is usually a good thing for hoppers at this end of the season.
In One Sentence
The right result, but the home side left it very late and very, very late to get their goals.
So What?
Results elsewhere saw Chatham Town clinch the divisional title by taking points off playoff rivals Cray Valley PM (who retain a game in hand). Ramsgate and Whitehawk took points from each other in their draw, and Beckenham Town drew at home (though also have a game in hand). All of this moved Sheppey United into fourth position for now. Lancing still retain control of their fate, and may need to win their final game at home to mid-table Sittingbourne next weekend, while Sheppey travel to …. Cray Valley PM. The above-mentioned games in hand are on Tuesday evening and there will be much to play for next week. Incidentally, Sheppey were in Step 5 last season and came up as champions of the Southern Counties East.
Pre-match Entertainment
Train via London to Queenborough, then a riverside walk, followed by a walk up to the ground...   Photo retained solely for the purpose of a "Wooooah" joke.
Match Report
It’s difficult to write much of interest relating to the first half. Sheppey shaded it, but only just, on the basis of half-chances created and territorial advantage. The mysteriously-clad (see below) visiting keeper Alieu Secka was a bit busier than his green-shirted counterpart. I noted that Sheppey were playing out from the back and were comfortable on the ball, but they struggled to keep possession higher up the pitch. It makes me wonder how teams manage to play one style at home and another more pragmatic one when away on a typical Step 4 grass pitch, and what the implications are for the coaching and training schedules. I have no idea, and as you can see, I was a bit bored at this point. I stayed at the same end for the second half, and was a lot closer to the action as Sheppey sought to impose themselves more on the game. Perhaps words had been said at half-time. If so, they worked. The home team got the ball into dangerous areas more frequently and used both flanks to good effect. It took some sterling defensive work from Lancing to keep the score level, and it looked as if they had been equal to the task. Then in the 88th minute, Danny Leonard got to the right-hand byline, directly in front of me. He chipped the ball invitingly into the six-yard box and Sheppey players were queuing up to finish. Bradley Shafer’s header was unstoppable and he had to suffer this celebration. Look closely and he was still smiling at this point even at the bottom of the pile-on. I even found on Twitter a pic of me (in the stylish green hat) taking the photo!   Pic via Simon Beard (@beardo10) on Twitter A second goal was added in stoppage time. Warren Mfula broke through from the halfway line, beat his man, and kept his composure to find the back of the net. Overall a deserved victory which keeps the Sheppey season alive with hopes of back-to-back promotions. 2-0 in stoppage time
Other Match Pix
Sheppey in red and white.
Ground Pix
This is a neat and tidy ground, with good facilities and friendly people. I hadn’t realised that it was an artificial surface, maybe just as well since nearby Sittingbourne was off due to waterlogging. Competitive pricing and good publicity had resulted in a crowd of over 700 today.
Post-match Entertainment
Another riverside walk, this time in the twilight between trains, across London from Victoria to Blackfriars.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Twitter just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable statistical significance test by the end of the season. The full keeper top performance table from my last 268 matches is here, on this separate page. From a distance, I originally called the Lancing top as a (Charcoal) Grey (having decided it was different enough from the black of the referee’s top) but after the change of ends I had to change my opinion in favour of a very dark Blue as the dominant colour. I did this before the first goal, honest.   Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 44% (54 from 123)   Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by undeniable half-and-half tops or lower league sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech (and supported by anonymous scientists of some description) that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. It is supposedly because of an innate primeval human reaction to the colour and the colour “spreads” more in the vision of a striker at the key moment of decision. Genius or garbage? The evidence is gathering here, and is leaning towards the latter.
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter! Happy that grandparenting takes precedence next weekend so this might be the end of season for me, we’ll see.